Revenge of the retail love rats

They are paid a fortune and tend to flounce off when they don't get their own way. But these are not reality TV stars or catwalk models. They are the cream of the retail sector, executives who have become such a sought-after commodity that they are not afraid to quit their employers at the first opportunity.

And the timing of some of their departures, which can have the consequence of causing maximum discomfort to their former bosses, prompted one retail industry observer to describe them last week as 'love rats'.

Last Tuesday, former Morrisons boss Marc Bolland arrived at the London head office of Marks & Spencer to take up his new job as chief executive and prepare for a board meeting the next day.

Swfit exit: Ian Dyson left his job at M&S one day after the arrival of new chief executive Marc Bolland

On Wednesday at 12.40pm, finance director Ian Dyson went to the office of chairman Sir Stuart Rose to tell the man who had passed him over for the chief executive's job just six months earlier that he was leaving to head pub company Punch Taverns.

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A spokesman for M&S said the company had been surprised by the announcement so soon after Bolland's arrival. But rumours had been circulating in the City over previous weeks that Dyson planned to leave to take a chief executive role as soon as the right job came along.

On Thursday, Morrisons finance director Richard Pennycook seemed to many to be doing the headhunters' job for them when he appeared to signal his interest in replacing Dyson at M&S. He had been seen as a possible candidate to replace Bolland as chief executive of Morrisons before Irishman Dalton Philips was appointed from Canada's largest supermarket group, Loblaw, in January.

'I don't rule myself in or out of anything,' said Pennycook on Thursday, which was widely read as ruling himself quite firmly in.

The same day, Asda trading director Darren Blackhurst resigned amid growing rumours that fellow director Andy Clarke was expected to be appointed to run the supermarket group.

Former Asda chief executive Allan Leighton, now chairman of Royal Mail, is highly regarded for his knack of spotting and developing talent and says the current round of musical chairs should not be unexpected in such a competitive field.

'When the top job gets filled, there are always going to be two or three people that believe they could have done it and don't want to wait four or five years for the opportunity to come around again,' he said.

The self-assured attitude was perhaps forgivable in experienced executives who would not be out of their depth running their own show at the helm of a multi-billion pound company, he added.

'There is a shortage of top-flight retail talent around the world and companies spend a lot of time and effort trying to identify the best people,' said Leighton.

This is one of the reasons behind the launch of a retail academy by Bhs and Arcadia tycoon Sir Philip Green, who has himself recently lost a couple of senior executives, including chief operating officer Paul Coackley. In the long term he wants to see the British retail industry able to nurture sufficient talent to provide a wide choice for the top jobs.

Tesco, which has a reputation for grooming first-class retailers, has recently lost a succession of senior executives, many leaving to take charge of large companies of their own. For instance, John Browett, who ran Tesco's online operations, is now chief executive of DSG, Britain's biggest electrical retailer.

Richard Hyman, strategic retail adviser to accountancy firm Deloitte, said recruiting top talent would be crucial in a tough economic climate.

'We're undoubtedly in the most challenging period in recent history and choosing the right people will make a fundamental difference to any retail business,' he said.

'Things are going to get worse before they get better and the hiatus we have experienced because of the General Election is merely the calm before the storm.'

He added: 'Retailers will need to grow by taking market share from competitors and the skills required will be very different from those needed to be successful in the slipstream of a growing market.'

Headhunters speculated this week that Bolland may seek ways of locking favoured executives into M&S. Clothing director Kate Bostock is likely to be among those he would like to keep.

One headhunter said: 'Marks & Spencer executives have developed a bad habit of leaving at short notice. Ian's departure was one that Marc can cope with and was probably inevitable, albeit not so soon. But further departures could quickly turn into a disaster.'

The appropriately named Carl Leaver, head of the international division, quit last year, director of food Steven Esom left in July 2008 only a year after his appointment and retail director Anthony Thompson left in 2007. All had been tipped as contenders for the top job to replace Rose.

The headhunter said the revolving door of talent was unusual in a FTSE 100 firm. 'Perhaps it is something that Marc Bolland should look into,' he said.

That's if he can find someone with enough talent to lead the investigation.